After Faking Her Death and Escaping, the Junior Sister Fell to the Demonic Path - Chapter 112

After bidding farewell to a few people, Shangguan Yu headed all the way towards the Barren Lands.

Sure enough, in less than half a day, she arrived at the border of the Barrens.

However, unfortunately, the area before her was covered in dark thunderclouds and resounding with deafening thunder—it was exactly the “Thunderfall Slope” that the people had mentioned.

Faint yellow sand stretched boundlessly in the lightning, a stark contrast to the landscape she had traveled through.

“The Forsaken Land, quite interesting indeed.”

Shangguan Yu stood before the Thunderfall Slope, observing the almost impenetrable purple lightning. She chose not to rush forward recklessly.

She found a secluded spot and decided to meditate again, intending to stabilize her cultivation before attempting to cross the Thunderfall Slope.

Three days later, Shangguan Yu opened her eyes again. This time, she didn’t hesitate, drawing her sword and charging into the Thunderfall Slope. The surrounding purple lightning struck incessantly, but she dodged them with swift movements. Clad in white, Shangguan Yu moved like a silver-white water dragon, weaving through the lightning’s embrace.

Just as she was about to cross the Thunderfall Slope and enter the Barrens, a flash of lightning forced her to change position, barely allowing her to evade the strike. The cost, however, was a scorched hole in the hem of her robe.

Shangguan Yu’s heart tightened. She knew the lightning here was even more terrifying than the tribulation lightning she faced during her ascension, and she raised her guard to the highest level.

But the sand beneath her feet began to stir at that moment. The surrounding grains vibrated, surging toward her location.

She tried to fly up to escape the quicksand, only to find her feet already enveloped, sinking deep and unable to pull free.

With no means of escape, the thunder roaring above, and the quicksand trapping her below, she had entered a dead end!

“Trusting the words of others lightly has indeed harmed me.”

If she hadn’t been so impulsive before coming here and had sought out a few more people to inquire, she might not have fallen into this predicament.

Shangguan Yu shook her head and sighed.

As things stood, if she didn’t use her full power now, she might well perish here.

Thoughts raced through her mind, and Shangguan Yu closed her eyes. The feet wrapped by the quicksand gradually transformed into jade-like purple bamboo, slowly sending out roots that spread along the sand below.

With the lightning striking relentlessly, she couldn’t leave, so she could only take out various heavenly and earthly treasures from her sleeves to resist.

From the thousand-gold-worth Frost Sword and the ten-thousand-gold-worth Precious Radiance Mirror, to the Scarlet Origin Crystal (which could only be found in secret realms) and the Grand Age Armor…

One by one, they were annihilated into fragments under the lightning.

One artifact could only block one bolt of lightning before shattering into dust in the glare.

For once, the face of the wealthy former Sect Master of the Sword Sect showed a hint of distress.

These were all valuable items she had painstakingly acquired, extracting them from many people’s pockets by hook or by crook. Now, they were all being sacrificed to this purple thunder.

It was true that trusting the words of others lightly would lead to being struck by lightning.

But at this moment, she had no time to mourn her treasures. She focused entirely on manipulating the bamboo roots beneath her feet to extend forward until they finally reached beyond the range of the lightning.

She bit her tongue, drawing out a drop of essence blood, wiped it with her finger, and flicked it out. A string of jade-like blood beads pierced through the layers of thunderclouds and landed on a freshly sprouted bamboo shoot outside.

The purple bamboo broke through the earth. In just a few breaths, it grew from a shoot into a slender stalk, then continued to grow until it was several meters tall and so thick that two hands couldn’t encircle it.

Shangguan Yu calculated the time until the next lightning strike. When another bolt descended, she ruthlessly abandoned the body trapped under the thunderclouds. Her soul transferred along the bamboo root beneath the sand to the newly grown purple bamboo.

This ‘Cicada Sheds Its Shell’ technique was her ultimate life-saving move. As long as she could successfully grow new bamboo, she could recreate a new body.

However, this method was not foolproof; if the dangerous environment was unsuitable for bamboo growth, the technique could not be used. Fortunately, although this place was covered in yellow sand, there was water underground, providing the necessary conditions for the bamboo to take root.

The moment her soul transferred, the world momentarily lost its grip on her. Correspondingly, the demon seed that had been parasitic in her body also failed to escape the purple lightning. As the old body was struck, it shrieked, attempting to break free.

Unfortunately, the demon seed had not rooted deeply inside Shangguan Yu’s body and had not anticipated her performing this ‘Cicada Sheds Its Shell’ technique. Thus, before it could react, it was struck by the purple lightning. Yet, the demon seed was incredibly tenacious. It endured several lightning strikes without being completely annihilated, merely shrieking in a twisted, sinister way, seemingly struggling to escape the soulless body.

Shangguan Yu reformed her shape, looking exactly as she did before. She quickly donned clothes to cover her body, then immediately collapsed to her knees, spitting out a large mouthful of blood with a “wah.”

Her brow was furrowed with intense pain. The腥** (bloody/fishy) smell of the blood in her mouth made her clutch her chest uncomfortably. It took her a while to regulate her breathing. Shangguan Yu turned and slumped on the ground, looking at the former body still being whipped back and forth by the lightning on the Thunderfall Slope, and shook her head helplessly: “What a pity.”

What a pity for the body she had nurtured with countless heavenly and earthly treasures, now being reduced to ashes under the lightning.

Had her true form not been bamboo, she might not have escaped. Although she had saved her life this way, she had fundamentally damaged her foundation, and she did not know when she could fully recover.

The crackling of thunder behind her continued, scorching the soulless, empty shell of a body until it was blackened, utterly unrecognizable.

Shangguan Yu watched coldly as the demon seed struggled fiercely in the lightning. The demon seed, which had been untouchable in the Xuan Tian Realm, was now gradually weakening in the Upper Realm’s falling thunder.

She watched until the body was completely reduced to charcoal, turning to dust in the wind when another lightning bolt struck, and the demon seed dissipated into the world along with it.

She could sense the chilling, predatory gaze that had been secretly observing her since her ascension to this realm. The moment the demon seed completely vanished, that gaze turned malevolent.

However, due to various constraints in the Upper Realm, the owner of the gaze was powerless against her.

Only then did a slight smile appear on Shangguan Yu’s lips.

“That solves one hidden danger, at least.”

Even though the cost was immense.

But now, she had completely passed through the Thunderfall Slope and entered the Barren Lands.

Shangguan Yu flexed her hand. The spiritual energy around her was extremely sparse upon entering the Barrens. The spiritual energy she had consumed while crossing the lightning and growing the new bamboo could not be replenished quickly.

She had no choice but to meditate where she was. As a newcomer to this realm, she didn’t know how to set up a ‘Spirit Gathering Formation.’ She could only rely on sitting and breathing to recover some of her strength so that she wouldn’t be exhausted from a lack of spiritual energy when she set off again.

However, what she did not know was that at the moment her soul transferred and her original body was struck by lightning, the bamboo on the Executive Sword Peak of the Sword Sect in the Xuan Tian Realm withered in large patches, displaying the signs of impending death.

This cast a shadow of unease over Qin Qingyi and the others in the Xuan Tian Realm, who were completely unaware of what had transpired.

Far away in the Xuan Tian Realm, Qin Qingyi woke up to find that things had changed again.

“You’re saying dozens of sects were attacked by the demon race last night, and they suffered heavy casualties with no defenses?!”

“Didn’t they arrange for elders and disciples to guard the sect’s grand formation?!”

Qin Qingyi, originally seated on the Sect Master’s throne, nearly fell off when she heard this.

Looking at the sect masters and elders from various sects who had rushed to the Sword Sect in a panic this morning, Qin Qingyi just wanted to faint.

How was it that everything was fine when her Senior Uncle was around, but now, just days into her tenure, such a huge mess had occurred!

However, the many elders she swept with a look of astonishment, having their negligence exposed so bluntly, averted their eyes in shame, silent amongst themselves.

They… were indeed lax in security.

For a long time, with the Sword Sect guarding the Ya Shan Seal, they lived in a relatively stable Xuan Tian Realm. Their defenses against the demon race were admittedly low. During their normal campaigns to exterminate demons alongside the Sword Sect, the Sword Sect always took the lead in the charge. They truly felt…

They truly felt ashamed to face a junior!

Qin Qingyi clutched her head, an onset of a headache. A slender, white hand reached out beside her, gently pressing her head, bringing a comfortable wave of coolness.

“Senior Sister, don’t fret. Why don’t you first listen to what the sect elders have to say about what exactly happened last night?”

Qin Qingyi hummed comfortably at the touch and nodded repeatedly.

Yes, yes, let’s hear what they have to say first.

Qin Qingyi possessively took Zhou Zhixue’s hand, pulling her to sit beside her.

She rubbed Zhou Zhixue’s hand, which was slightly cooler than her own, tracing from the smooth wrist bone to the white, jade-like finger bones, lingering, with a hint of playful adoration.

The next moment, however, Zhou Zhixue withdrew her hand, not allowing her to touch it anymore.

Qin Qingyi looked over in dissatisfaction, but Zhou Zhixue reminded her: “Senior Sister… we’re outside.”

Last night, the two had shared a passionate time. Using the excuse of the full moon, Zhou Zhixue had made endless demands of her until 7 AM this morning, when they finally lazily rose from the bed.

Therefore, Qin Qingyi had not yet fully detached herself from the state of last night.

For some unknown reason, the more intimate she became with her Junior Sister, the more she clung to her. This phenomenon was most pronounced in the first few days after the full moon. She wished she could stick to Zhou Zhixue’s side at all times.

Of course, Zhou Zhixue found this quite gratifying.

But not at this moment.

Qin Qingyi gave her a resentful look, finally willing to turn her attention to the few embarrassed elders from other sects.

“Ahem, last night…”

It was deep in the night, and all was quiet.

Apart from a small number of disciples guarding the sects, the rest of the elders and disciples had retired. Fighting demons and campaigning all day was exhausting, and cultivators couldn’t go without rest every day. Thus, deep into the night, the entire sects were virtually motionless.

The guarding disciples yawned, blinked their eyes, and rested briefly against a large tree out of boredom.

Until—

The sect’s protective grand formation was suddenly torn open. Demons landed and began slaughtering on all sides.

The guarding disciples didn’t even have time to raise an alarm before they were instantly killed by the demons.

By the time the entire sect reacted, the casualties were already immense.

The sects were like a bloodbath. From elders to disciples, everyone fighting against the demon’s siege was wounded. The entire sect was locked down by the demons, and they couldn’t even transmit a call for help.

It was only when dawn broke and the demon race retreated that they had a moment to catch their breath.

Dozens of sects, all met the same fate.

Qin Qingyi listened, almost losing control and reverting to her original form. She wanted to grab each of their ears and scold them furiously:

“The battle between the immortals and demons is so tense right now, and you didn’t even reinforce your sect’s defenses! Haven’t the past lessons of the Sword Sect been enough to make you remember?!”

The Sword Sect itself had been ambushed by the demon race once before, but fortunately, the disciples reacted quickly, preventing significant casualties.

With a clear precedent, they were still so careless as to be unable to defend against a nighttime attack by the demon race.

The many elders felt utterly ashamed by her words, each bowing their head, unable to look at her.

However, despite scolding them, Qin Qingyi ultimately arranged accommodation for the elders and disciples who had come to “seek refuge.”

“You all should stay at the Sword Sect for now. The increasing activity of the demon race suggests there might be more to come. We must arrange treatment for the injured disciples as quickly as possible.”

Qin Qingyi gave command after command. The disciples who had been waiting in the hall left one after another to carry out their orders.

It wasn’t until the hall was empty again that Qin Qingyi let out a sigh of exhaustion, slumping onto the throne.

“I’m so tired.”

She complained, looking up.

Zhou Zhixue walked affectionately to her side, offering to massage her shoulders and comforting her softly: “Senior Sister has worked hard.”

Qin Qingyi hummed and nestled against Zhou Zhixue, complaining in a low voice about how tiring and difficult it was to manage such a large sect, and now she even had to worry about other sects. She felt her Senior Uncle had trapped her, and she had fallen into a black pit she couldn’t climb out of.

She completely forgot that since she became the Sect Master, Zhou Zhixue had handled most of the political affairs for her.

And Zhou Zhixue obviously didn’t want to expose her, simply agreeing with her and gently stroking Qin Qingyi’s back.

“Senior Sister has suffered. It’s all Senior Uncle’s fault. If Senior Uncle hadn’t played tricks, Senior Sister wouldn’t have to work so hard.”